ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced a 17.5 percent increase in the country’s defense budget on Wednesday, saying the government had decided to allocate Rs2.12 trillion ($6.15 billion) for the country’s security needs in view of its geopolitical situation.
Pakistan’s defense budget consistently attracts media attention due to the military’s substantial role in both the political and economic arenas of the country.
The allocation of significant funds to defense sparks debates over the balance between security needs and other critical public services, such as education and health care.
Media coverage and public discussions also reflect concerns about transparency, with governments only mentioning the overall figure without sharing further details.
“Rs2.122 trillion will be provided for defense needs,” the finance minister said during his address to the National Assembly. “And Rs849 billion are being allocated for civil administration expenses.”
Last year, the defense allocation stood at Rs1.80 trillion ($5.23 billion).
According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, the allocated amount “presents an incomplete picture of the country’s actual military expenditure.”
“A significant sum of Rs662 billion [$1.92 billion], designated for retired military personnel, which equals to about 31pc of allocation for the armed forces, will not be drawn from the defense budget, rather government’s current expenditure,” it reported.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, prompting its armed forces to carry out targeted operations in areas adjoining its border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s army and other law enforcement agencies are also responsible for the providing security to Chinese nationals working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is widely viewed as pivotal to the country’s economic security.
Militant groups have periodically targeted these Chinese workers, killing five of them earlier this year in a suicide bombing in Pakistan’s northwest while they were going to the site of a hydropower project.
Pakistan raises defense budget by 17.5% to $6.15 billion amid surge in militancy
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Pakistan raises defense budget by 17.5% to $6.15 billion amid surge in militancy
- Defense spending in Pakistan draws media focus as debates over security needs and public services persist
- Media coverage also reflects concerns about transparency, with few details available on the overall spending
Pakistan urges equal application of international law, flags Indus treaty at UN debate
- Pakistani envoy says silence over violations of international law are fueling conflicts from South Asia to Gaza
- He urges the UN secretary-general to use the Charter’s preventive tools more proactively to help avert conflicts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s UN ambassador on Monday called for equal application of international law in resolving global conflicts, warning that India’s decision to hold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and the unresolved dispute over Kashmir continued to threaten stability in South Asia.
Speaking at an open debate of the UN Security Council on “Leadership for Peace,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said selective enforcement of international law and silence in the face of violations were fueling conflicts worldwide, undermining confidence in multilateral institutions.
His remarks come months after a brief but intense military escalation between India and Pakistan in May, following a gun attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denied while calling for a transparent international probe.
The attack triggered a military standoff between the two South Asian nuclear neighbors and prompted New Delhi to suspend the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty, a move Pakistan says has no basis in international law and has described as “an act of war.”
“India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a rare and enduring example of successful diplomacy — is yet another blatant breach of international obligations that undermines regional stability and endangers the lives and livelihoods of millions,” Ahmad told the council.
He said Jammu and Kashmir remained one of the oldest unresolved disputes on the Security Council’s agenda and required a just settlement in line with UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, a position India has long rejected.
Ahmad broadened his remarks to global conflicts, citing Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other crises, and said peace could not be sustained through “selective application of international law” or by sidelining the United Nations when violations occur.
The Pakistani envoy also referred to the Pact for the Future, a political declaration adopted by UN member states this year aimed at strengthening multilateral cooperation, accelerating progress toward the 2030 development goals and reforming global governance institutions.
While welcoming the pact, Ahmad warned that words alone would not deliver peace, pointing to widening development financing gaps, rising debt distress and climate shocks that he said were reversing development gains across much of the Global South.
He called for a stronger and more proactive role for the UN Secretary-General, including earlier use of preventive tools under the UN Charter, and urged the Security Council to demonstrate credibility through consistency, conflict prevention and greater respect for international court rulings.
“No nation can secure peace alone,” Ahmad said. “It is a collective endeavor, requiring leadership, cooperation and genuine multilateralism.”
